ON THE CULTURE 



immediately closed* The great heat of the hot- 

 house will exhale the moisture, and raise a kind of 

 artificial dew, which will soon stand in drops on 

 the glasses ; the leaves of the Pine being succulent, 

 they will imbibe the watery particles, to the great 

 benefit of the plants. 



It will also be of great use to give the top of 

 the tan-bed frequent waterings during the summer, 

 in order to keep it in a moist state 5 for when the 

 tan becomes dry and husky, the Pine-plants never 

 make any great progress. The water may with 

 great ease be put upon the tan between the Pine 

 pots by the help of the watering-pipe. When the 

 tan is in a moist state, it not only affords a more 

 generous warmth to the plants, but (the pots being 

 porous) their roots also imbibe a constant moisture* 

 which is far preferable to any waterings that can 

 be given them. 



Insects excepted, no greater misfortune can 

 befall a stove of Pines than an overheat of the tan 5 

 for, notwithstanding all the care a gardener can 

 bestow, when this happens, the plants are generally 

 injured in a greater or less degree. It used to 

 give me much concern, during the time I used 

 nothing but tan, that no effectual means could be 

 found to remove so great a grievance : but by 

 substituting oak-leaves in the place of tan, this 

 mischief is absolutely annihilated. I shall there- 

 fore give my readers the method of using them at 

 the end of this work. However, as oak-leaves are 

 not to be got in sufficient quantities in all places 



